Golf club accessory for swing practice



Sept. 13, 1949. Y H. w. M CONNELL 2,432,015

GOLF CLUB ACCESSORY FOR SWING PRACTICE Filed Nov. 28, 1947 H13 \X/A RU WMCEUNNELL Patented Sept. 13, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GOLF CLUB ACCESSORY FOR SWING PRACTICE This invention relates to teaching devices and training devices, and particularly to training or teaching devices used to improve the swing used in playing the game of golf.

To play the game of golf successfully, the player must learn to feel the swing of the club head through the hitting area. It is the teaching of this ability to feel the club head through the hitting area that occupies most of the time used in instructing a person to play the game of golf. Once this feel is gained, the other factors, such as the stance, the slow back swing, the cooking and releasing of the wrists and the followthrough, are acquired relatively easily. If this feel of the club head through the hitting area is not learned, the instruction on the other less important fundamentals of the game is of a great deal less value.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide mechanical means that may be attached to a golf club to aid in teaching this feel of the club head through the hitting area.

A further object is to provide a teaching device which will emphasize the feel of the club head while the club is being swung.

A further object is to provide a teaching device which may be readily attached to or detached from a golf club.

A further object is to provide a teaching device which may be attached to a golf club and which is adjustable to the varying swing of persons of different size and muscular ability.

A still further object is to provide means for suspending a weight from the shaft of a golf club in such fashion that the weight will emphasize the feel of the action of the club head as it is swung.

A still further object is to provide a thin metal band from which a weight may be suspended from a golf club, the thin metal band being easily stored by reason of its piling up upon itself when it is wound on a reel.

A still further object is to provide means for suspending a weight from a golf club shaft, the means having more rigidity in the plane of travel of the weight than it has in a plane perpendicular to that first plane.

Further objects and advantages residing in the details of construction of the device will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification in connection with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. I is a view in elevation of my device with one of the side plates of the housing removed to show the inner construction,

Fig. II is a view in broken elevation showing the device attached to a golf club,

Fig. III is a view in elevation showing the device attached to a golf club, and v Fig. IV is a side view showing the details of the clip construction.

In the drawings wherein is shown the preferred embodiment of my device, the housing I0 encloses a floating reel 12 upon which is wound the suspension means which is preferabl a metal tape or band Id. The tape I4 is attached to the reel I2, as by rivets it, passes through the slit 18 in the reel 12, and makes several turns around the reel; from the reel [2 the tape l4 passes cut side the partition 20 and is guided inside the housing ill to a point adjacent the base section 22 where it passes out through the aperture 24 in the side wall 26.

Attached to the external end of the tape I4 is a weight or heavy metal ball 28, the function of which will appear later.

The reel l 2 may be positioned within the housing in in any suitable manner, but I prefer, for purposes of facilitating the rewinding of the tape I4 in the housing ill, to attach a flat coil spring 30 to the reel l2 at the rivet Hi. The spring 30 coils around its center, which is attached to an axial stub or shaft 32, which is in turn fastened to the back wall 34 of the housing II].

From the above it will be seen that I have provided' a housing enclosing a spring loaded reel resilient metal so that it will maintain a secure hold on the grip 40.

In use, the housing ID is secured to the grip 4?! by means of the clip 36, the housing l0 being positioned on the grip 40 below the normal position of the hands of the player. A portion of 3 the metal tape [4 is then pulled out from the housing I so that, with the club head 44 in a hitting position on the ground, and the shaft 46 at its normal angle, the metal ball 28 is held an inch or two above the ground, thereby being free to swing with the club. It is likewise recommended that the housing H] be placed on the left side of the club 42 as it is held by the player. It has been found that the closer the weight 28 is to the ground, the easier it is to get the feel of the club head through the hitting area, although I recognize that the distance between the weight 28 and the ground, or the length of the metal tape l4 projecting from the housing i0,

is not determinative of the results. Having positioned the metal ball 28, as desired, the club 42 is swung very gently in a very restricted arc to set up motion in the weight 28, care being taken that the swing is restricted to keep the ball 28 moving in the same vertical plane as the plane of the hitting face 48 of the club head 44. I have found that the greater rigidity of the tape M in the one direction than in the other makes it easier to start the weight 28 in motion,

and also makes it possible to swing the club and weight more slowly with complete control, which slow swinging speeds the teaching process. As this motion is set up in the ball 28, the length of the swing is increased slowly until it reaches its practical limits, which is when the shaft 46 is horizontal on both the back swing and the followthrough. This 180 degree oscillation is then continued as long as the player wishes .to' practice, or as long as'the ball 28 remains in the same plane as the hitting face 48. It will be found upon attempting this practice that if the club head is 'jerkedback, or if it is forced forward, the ball 28 will not remain in the plane with the face 48, but that it will bob around, and possibly Wind around the. shaft 46, thereby ending the exercise. It has been found in fact that unusual movement of the club 42 may cause the ball 28 to oscillate wildly, even hittingthe player in its travel.

I do not wish to restrict myself to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing or described in this specification, but wish to include all uses of a weight suspended on a flexible member from the shaft of a golf club, and used to teach the feel of the club head through the hitting area.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim and protect by Letters Patent is:

1. An attachment for golf clubs comprising a housing, clip means associated with said housing to attach said housing to a golf club, a reel mounted in said housing, an aperture defined by said housing, a flexible band wound upon said reel and projecting for a distance through said aperture, said band being more resistant to flexing in one direction than in another, and a weight suspended from the projecting end of said band and suspended for movement with said golf club.

2. An attachment for golf clubs comprising a flexible band member, said band member being more rigid in one plane of movement than in another, a weight attached near one end of said band, and means for attaching the other end of said band to a golf club.

3. A golf club accessory comprising a pendulum member having a weighted lower end, a flexible intermediate portion having greater rigidity in the direction of the are of swing than in other directions, and an upper attachment portion for securing the accessory to the shaft of the club adjacent the upper end.

HOWARD W. McCONNELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,930,342 Graham Oct. 10, 1933. 2,156,907 Volz May 2, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 472,237 Great Britain Sept. 20, 1937 

